Guneet Monga and Kartiki Gonsalves' The Elephant Whisperers became the first ever film by an Indian production to win the Best Documentary Short Film award at the 95th Academy Awards. On March 12, the ceremony was held in Los Angeles. The women made the country proud with this achievement and their moment on the stage brought tears of joy to countless people. However, a TikToker observed how Guneet wasn't allowed to speak on the stage while receiving the award. Shedding light on the unfair incident and highlighting the possibility of racism and gender discrimination playing a role in the same, the TikToker shared a clip that showcased the moment.
Kartiki, who made a directorial debut with The Elephant Whisperers, came on the stage with Guneet, the producer, to receive the award for the Best Documentary Short Film. While she was allowed to complete her speech, the producer was stopped abruptly. After Kartiki finished her speech in approximately 42 seconds, Guneet took the mike and had almost started talking. However, the Oscar music began playing in the background and forced her to forego the speech that she had prepared for her big moment.
this needs to be talked abt more this is insane pic.twitter.com/LmOSjM16N4
— persian roman roy (@theronfilm) March 14, 2023
On the contrary, when The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse won the award for Best Animated film, the filmmakers, who were two British men- Charlie Mackesy and Peter Baynton got the chance to speak. They weren't stopped even when the speech exceeded 45 seconds. The video shared by the TikToker has put the Academy into the limelight for its blatant racism.
Guneet didn't get a chance to say her speech on the stage but she didn’t complain. Instead, she delivered the speech later and shared it on social media. She said, "Tonight is historic! This is the first Oscar for any Indian production, and two women here won this. I just want to say to everyone watching, the future is audacious and the future is us and the future is here."
Kartiki said in her speech, "I stand here today to speak on the sacred bond between us and our natural world. For the respect of indigenous communities, for entity towards other living beings, we share our space with. And finally for co-existence. Thank you to the Academy for recognizing our film highlighting indigenous people and animals. To Netflix for believing in the power of this film. To Guneet, my producer and my entire team and finally, to my mother, father and sister who are up there somewhere, you’re the centre of my universe. To My motherland India."
(Source: Twitter/Instagram)
